The final chance

Gilberto is determined that Arsenal will end the season on a high by beating Manchester United to lift the FA Cup

The man the Brazilians call “The Invisible Wall” confidently expects Manchester United to be climbing a metaphorical one after the FA Cup final at the Millennium stadium on Saturday. Unlike the rest of his Arsenal teammates, Gilberto Silva has not finished on the losing side against United these past two years, and he does not intend to start in a Cardiff showpiece that is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Both teams need to win to avoid the indignity of finishing the season empty-handed, and the history between them suggests the hottest ticket in town should come imprinted with an X certificate.

United’s motivation is the greater, with their followers, from Torquay to Tynemouth, increasingly restless after another third-place finish in a Premiership that once seemed to be their exclusive preserve. Arsenal are up for it, too, having nursed a sense of grievance since United bullied them out of their record-breaking